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Found 14 results

  1. OK we've all seen this picture but George's ears make chimp jokes passe'. Let's take a look at the major candidates and other in the news side by side with their closest biological relatives... Here is Phred Phelps and a baboon. Can you tell which is which? Here is Phred again and an baboon... which looks more evil?
  2. Hate has a bad rap. For generations the Christian church have sought to discourage it. Lately it has become politically incorrect. Hate is one of the most basic and powerful emotions. It's also one of the most honest if you understand where it comes from. In studying apes, our closest biological relatives, they have two basic emotions: yikes and goody. All the rest of their emotional states are somewhere in between. Goody we can all understand. It's the reaction to spending time with our mate, sex, our favorite food, physical comfort, etc. Yikes is a response to a threat- either real or perceived. It is how apes respond to something that is unfamiliar or not understood. It evokes in apes a fight or flight reaction. Apes will either run from or confront something that frightens them. So we have Yikes changing into Anger. Does this sound at all familiar? Human emotion is a lot more complex than apes. Apes don't know how to lie. Humans are adept at dishonesty- so much so that they often end up lying to themselves. What has happening in society is that social pressure is discouraging people from showing or voicing hate. On the surface this sounds like a good thing and I suppose that it is. Those that openly preach hate are viewed with suspicion and disgust. The problem is that that hate doesn't really go away. It is internalized and carried around, political correctness be damned. It comes out in small doses while looking at employment applications, performance reviews, and a thousand other little ways where internalized hate can replace judgment. Is this really better? I don't know. When we hear a hate preacher like Phelps, Hucklebee or Dobson carrying on like a baboon, at least its honest and we know where we stand-- even if we won't turn our back on them. Where things get really dangerous is when that internalized hate is concealed behind a smile and a warm handshake. To me it is easier when the haters rave. You can protect yourself from the danger that you see. I takes a politically correct bigot that professes to love everybody to really hurt you. IMHO: let the haters hate. I'll buy them t-shirts. It's never the snake that you see that bites you. It's always the snake in the grass.
  3. Does it seem like no one wants to win in November? There may be something to that. The United States faces a perfect economic storm which has the potential to cause economic problems the likes of which haven't been seen since the 1930's. These twenty domestic and foreign policy problems will give the new resident of the White House many sleepless nights. Item 1: 100/barrel oil- The US economy is based on cheap oil and can not sustain 100/barrel oil prices without causing inflation or a devaluation of the dollar. Thanks to our popularity in the oil producing countries of the world, oil prices are unlikely to go anywhere but up in the foreseeable future. Item 2: Iraq & Afghanistan- The occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan is a very expensive undertaking which wears out tanks, helicopters and troops. It also creates difficulties in keeping the US military ready to respond to a crisis at a moments notice and an acute manpower shortage. These open-ended military operations are black holes which absorb as much money as the federal government has and adds greatly to the budget deficit. Item 3: sub-prime mortgage financial crisis- Is exploding in the face of the lending industry and causing defaults, repossessions, foreclosures and bankruptcies all over the country. It is also causing real estate prices in some markets to plummet which is causing erosion in local tax bases. As of Jan 2008 Banks have posted ~130 Billion in losses and bankruptcies of industry heavyweights Ameriquest, AHM, New Century Financial and a half dozen more. Item 4: War on Terror- Unlike the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the budget for the War on Terror is black. No one knows how much is being spent on proxy wars and mercenaries in the Third World. Item 5: Service Economy- the US has moved from a manufacturing economy to an service economy. As a result, the US manufacturing sector has shrunk and a number a strategically important items (electronics, equipment) can only be acquired from abroad. If Taiwan collapsed, the US Navy would have to stop using AEGIS radars because key components are manufactured there. Item 6: The Rise of China- As an economic entity, China is the 1000 pound gorilla. With near limitless manpower, new and modern factories China's star is rising. Not only is China a production power. It has a new and huge middle class. While still communist in name, China is in fact a capitalist enterprise with government support and involvement in key industries. Item 7: Pakistani Polka- Will Pakistan fall and be taken over by Muslim extremist or will the military stay in power. The stakes are high: to the winner goes the custody of the Islamic bomb. Item 8: Chavez & Crew- Venezuela's Hugo Chavez has made a great deal of political hay in South America by twisting the tail of the United States. With billions of dollars of oil revenue, Chavez has built himself a powerful military, political comfort at home and influence abroad. How will he use his new found power? Item 9: Putin's New Cold War- America bashing has always been popular in Russia and Putin has decided to jump on the bandwagon after working closely with the US and President Bush early in his term. Is this for domestic consumption or does it indicate a more fundamental change in Russia's foreign policy? Item 10: Relations With Old Europe- For many years the United States could count on Europe as some of its strongest allies. Now those same governments view the US with suspicion and fear and have large and vocal Anti-American political groups. How will this play out and what will it mean over the next decade? Item 11: Arab & Israeli Animosity- Simmering tensions in the Middle East can boil over at any time. Although there hasn't been a full scale Arab-Israeli War since the 70s, there were large scale engagements between Israeli-Hezbollah last summer. Anytime tensions blow up here, oil prices go up and the world holds its breath. Item 12: Iran & Hezbollah- It seems probable that Iran has its hands inside Iraq. They are well known to operate through proxies like Hezbollah. Although it seems improbable now that Iran is a nuclear power, Iran is still a large, powerful and rich adversary that appears to be remarkably well led and trained (in comparison to their Arab neighbors). Will Iran force a confrontation or, God forbid, a war in Iraq or the Gulf? Item 13: Africa- Always a humanitarian crisis, the US has aways managed to stay out of Africa with the sorry exception of Somalia. Will the US continue to stay out or will a Darfor or Rwandan type crisis draw us in? Item 14: Immigration- After 9/11 and the creation of the Office of Homeland Security, the US is still loosing the battle against illegal immigration and neither party appears to have the political will to address the problem. Item 15: Terrorism- The US has not been hit by terrorists since 9/11 however, the current administration has spared no opportunity to enrage practical every govt, political party, religious group and cub scout troop in the world. How long can we keep it up and what will be the consequences next time? Item 16: North Korea- NK's stock as a bad actor has fallen since they did an underground nuclear test which experts the world over judged to be a "fizzle". However- North Korea still stands as a power threat to our allies, South Korea and Japan. Will Kim Jong-Il continue to capitalize on tensions and events in other parts of the world? Most likely, however, her ability to really harm South Korea drops every year as NK's technology ages and South Korea's advances. Item 17: Battle Fatigue- the US military has been conducting operations non-stop since... before I can even remember. This has put a critical strain on the military: their tanks, ships, planes and even people are just plain wearing out. Unless billions are put in the pipeline, it will soon become difficult to maintain the current operational tempo on the opposite side of the globe. Item 18: Environment & International Cooperation- the US rejected the Kyoto accords to fight global warming but remains under pressure from friends, allies and many citizens to do something. The new administration is going to have to decide exactly what and what part American businesses will play and how much it will cost them. Item 19: States on the Skids- In the 80s, Reagen decided to give back to states the responsibility for a number of programs and services. Now many US states are in serious economic trouble that could trigger record hikes in state and local taxes. Item 20: Infrastructure- the maintenance of the buildings, bridges, sewers, subways which make up the national infrastructure have been handed over to states who can ill afford it. This years collapse of the Mississippi River Bridge in Minnesota is a wake up call that the national infrastructure can not be ignored forever without serious consequences.
  4. After a year and a half of service as a moderator, I have decided to "retire" and devote more time to writing. Being a moderator is stressful. It is NOT a symbol of power or prestige but rather a badge of trust and masochism: the site's powers that be must trust you and you must be a glutton for punishment. Trying to read every post on a site full of authors, potential authors, editors, poets and miscellaneous unusually bright people is exhausting. :wacko: I think that it is a good idea for a sites moderators to change from time to time. No personality should dominate and a constant flow of new blood insures against stagnation. Burned out moderators can turn cynical, crabby and mean and these are not traits that anyone wants to deal with- and something that I don't want to be or worse, become. This site is blessed with an outstanding team of administrators and moderators and it has been a great pleasure to serve with them. Myr is an outstanding individual that has built the premier site of its kind on the net. Kitty has helped drive GA to new heights and has presided over a period of unprecedented growth. CJ, Joey, Matthew, AFriendFace and all of the others each bring unique skills, outlook and voice to the team. As for me, I'm not going far: Just from the Admin forums to my blog. Expect to see more articles, blogs and writing from me- and new projects. Oh and I'll get to read more. See ya next time: same blog time, same blog channel, JS
  5. Remember, remember the fifth of November, The gunpowder, treason and plot, I see of no reason why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot. In 1604 a group of disaffected Catholics decided that they had a belly full of Protestant King James. One Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament and King James with many kegs of gunpowder. It didn't work out and Fawkes was executed but November fifth has been an unofficial holiday in Great Britain and many countries in the Commonwealth ever since. Although the Gunpowder Plot didn't work out, it did serve as a wake up call to an arrogant king that the people wouldn't put up with his shit forever. Fawkes ghost was recently resurrected by a graphic novel and movie called V for Vendetta. I shan't waste your time by giving up the plot. That is a joy that you should discover yourself. The story does raise questions about what some people would do to be free. This is a question that many Americans couldn't be bothered with but we had better start. Dictatorships don't arrive escorted by marching bands. Dictatorships creep in quietly like a fog, with whispered conspiracies, labeling dissidents unpatriotic and making scapegoats of unpopular minorities. Does this sound at all familiar or have you been too busy watching MTV to notice? Valarie's Story I was born in a rainy burg in Nottingham in 1975. I passed my eleven plus and went to girl's grammar. I met my first girlfriend at school. Her name was Sara. Her wrists. Her wrists were beautiful. I sat in biology class staring at the pickled rabbit fetus while Mr. Our teacher said it was an adolescent phase that people outgrew. Sara did. I didn't. In 1994, I stopped pretending and took a girl called Christine home to meet my parents. A week later I moved to London to go to college and study drama. My mother said I broke her heart. But it was my integrity that was important. Is that so selfish? It sells for so little but it's all we have left in this place... It is the very last inch of us... But within that inch we are free. London. I was happy in London. I played Dandini in Cinderella. The world was strange and rustling with invisible crowds behind the hot lights and all that breathless glamour. Work improved. I got small film roles, then bigger ones. In 2006, I starred in "The Salt Flats." That's where I met Ruth. We fell in love. Every Valentine's Day she sent me roses and, oh god, we had so much. Those were the best three years of my life. In 2010, they came. And after that there were no more roses... Not for anybody. After the takeover, they started rounding up the gays. They took Ruth while she was out looking for food. Why are they so frightened of us? They burned her face with cigarettes and made her give them my name. She signed a statement saying I'd seduced her. I didn't blame her. God, I loved her but I didn't blame her. But she did. She killed herself in her cell. She couldn't live with betraying me, with giving up that last inch. Oh, Ruth. They came for me. They shaved off my hair. They held my head down a toilet and told lesbian jokes. They brought me here and pumped me full of chemicals. I can't feel my tongue. I can't speak. It is strange that my life should end in such a terrible place but for three years I had roses and apologized to no one. I shall die here. Every inch of me shall perish... Except one. An inch. It is small and fragile and it's the only thing in the world that's worth having. We must never lose it or sell it or give it away. We must never let them take it from us. I don't know who you are but I hope you escape this place. I hope that the world turns and things get better and that one day people have roses again. I don't know who you are but I love you. I love you. Valerie. Excerpt from V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd.
  6. JamesSavik

    Remember

    Matthew Shepherd Foundation I remember when I heard about it. It was an ordinary day at work. I had the radio on. I didn't want to care about it. I had enough to care about. I had been assaulted myself- many times. I'm alive myself because I've got a thick head. In fact all the fuss over a run of the mill gay bashing made me angry. When it had happened to me, the cops were completely disinterested. It didn't really hit me until I saw the picture. He looked like a little kid. It made me sick. It made me ashamed for the way I had felt. There but for the grace of my own thick skull go I. When he died, it pissed me off. It incited me to action. I became one of those obnoxious gay activists that you hear about. I don't know if I've done any good and I have paid a serious price for speaking out. Silence is surrender. Silence in the face of those that would deny us our rights and even our lives is a kind of cowardliness that I can't live with. Silence is an tacit vote of approval for the thousand little indignities that GLBT people are forced to endure. I will be Silent no more.
  7. I spent the last couple of weeks commuting back and forth to Gulfport. I was doing a job overseeing the installation of a business network. Actually- the business was rebuilt after a certain be-yach of a hurricane blew most of it to Wiggins. It took almost a year to get a construction company that wasn't booked up. They must be well practiced as they went from concrete slab to interior finishing in Three weeks. It's like watching mushrooms pop up after the rain. I see some definite advantages to Katrina. Everything that was destroyed- save the historic buildings- are being built back brand new. Businesses are getting a modern makeover. Homeowners that weren't screwed over by the wind vs rain loophole are getting brand new houses. Unemployment is unheard of. If you can walk and use a push-broom, someone will hire you. Construction is going on everywhere and the watch-word seems to be bigger and better. I got a chance to catch up with some of my relatives on the coast and all of them have hair-raising stories. Heath is a 22 year old who used to live in Moss Point. They went to a relatives house that was in the hills 15 miles behind Pascagoula, MS. Even at that distance, they had major problems. The storm damaged the roof and knocked down so many trees, it was a week until they could drive to the main road. They weren't allowed back to Moss Point for almost a month and then all that was left was a concrete slab. Their family lived in a FEMA trailer from October of last year until June when they finished rebuilding. Heath has become a champion roofer and can get as much work as he can do. Even a year after the storm, the tell-tale "Blue Tarps" still cover many roofs. If a house didn't get flooded, the winds from Katrina ripped shingles off a roof like a fisherman scales a fish. After the storm, FEMA gave out blue tarps to cover roofs until they could be repaired. My cousin Rick has a house outside Pascagoula. He built it himself- he is a contractor. He built it 10 feet off the ground with I-beams and concrete blocks. As the area he was in didn't get flooded during Camile, a cat 4 hurricane in 1969 that previously served as a benchmark, he was confident that his house would be fine. What he wasn't counting on was a 35 foot storm surge that despite his elevation and stilts put 3 feet of water on his first floor. His family moved everything upstairs to ride out the storm. To their horror, they looked out and saw their neighbors house coming apart and the neighbors holding onto floating debris. He took the poll that he used to dip leaves out of his pool, went out onto the top of his garage and dipped his neighbor and her two kids out of the flood waters. Before the storm was over, seven more people from the neighborhood were saved. Unfortunately, several of his neighbors are still missing. Rick's house, built tough, survived the storm easily. It just got a bit wet. His basement workshop was wreaked and he needed new wiring and carpet. He has been working steadily ever since rebuilding homes wreaked by the storm. On the anniversary of the Katrina, he bought a show truck to replace the one that the storm had ruined. The Mississippi Gulf Coast is down but it's not out. Reconstruction is going on at a furious rate. I am confident that it anything, it will be bigger and better than ever before. Wait a year or so and y'all come see us. JS PS- I hear that Joey's on the Beach, the gay mecca in Biloxi, is going to be rebuilt and should be open by next summer.
  8. Coming up Oct. 1st, I'll have been clean and sober for two years. At first it was really hard passing up the sleezy bars and liquor stores. I really missed going to meet dangerous characters in dangerous allies to buy weed. Being drunk and stoned was for a while.. liberating. I do something stupid my friends would laugh it off. I was really drunk at the time was like a get out of trouble free card. Sorry I screwed your boyfriend at the party. I was so drunk I can barely remember it. Yeah- I hung out with some real winners. ...and woke in some interesting places- like Arkansas. Being sober takes some getting used too. It was really difficult at first. Breaking old habits is hard. Late on Sunday nights I just didn't feel right and I couldn't figure it out. This went on for a couple of months before I figured it out: it felt so strange to go all weekend without barfing. Kicking weed is difficult but its different from smoking ciggerettes or drinking. Those tasty treats from 7-11s you pick up at 2:00am just don't taste the same. Watching TV for hours on end didn't hold the same charm. Before I knew it, I had ditched my junk food for vegatables. I still like Taco Bell but we're talking about progress, not perfection. I stayed stoned for months at a time. I didn't stop to ask myself why. I was too busy looking for just the right brand of microwave buritos. Weed comes on slowly and quietly. First its just holidays like New Years, the Superbowl or the 4th of July. Then its weekends. Then its for a headache or a bad day and then its not just a hobby anymore. When I cleaned up, I had searing headaches. They were so bad they blurred my vision. I got diagnosed with glaucoma and figured it out- it was taking being high just to make me feel normal. Sadder and wiser I look back and feel embarrassed. How could I have been such an idiot? Things happened for me fast and furious. I graduated in '86 with a hot degree and moved up in the business effortlessly. By the time I was 32, I had a house and was a member of senior management. I made my career goals. My problem: What's next? No shit, that's a killer. I was no longer the hot-shot kid. I felt like my best work was behind me. I was in an empty and soul-less place; a circular prison of expectations. Looking in the mirror and seeing myself going stale- becoming a middle aged burn out and feeling useless. Keeping the yard mowed and the house painted but behind the shades, the inside was empty and silently rotting away. Thankfully I'm not in that place anymore. Part of recovery is figuring out how f-ed up you really are. It motivates you to work towards something better. After a long time of wandering around without purpose and in the dark, I'm back. I'm smart, strong and frankly pretty tough. I'm seeing a great guy. Despite the pain, I would not go back to the way it was. I'm the same person but not the same guy. Some things inside me that were broken are repaired and bad programming has been... upgraded. I've still got a lot of work to do but for some reason, it seems possible. Dare I say it? I believe that I've found some hope. Now when I do something silly, as I'm apt to do a couple of times a day, I no longer have the I was drunk at the time excuse. I say, Pardon me. I was having a blond moment. JS
  9. May cause cramps and bloating... If you have an erection lasting more that 4 hours... May cause diareah and nausea... May cause sexual side effects... May cause tremors, forgetfulness and hallicunations... Don't drive a car or operate heavy machinery for 4 to 6 hours after use... May cause sinus infection or nosebleeds... If you experience depression or suicidal thoughts please call your doctor... May cause delerium, euphoria or dementia... Screw it! I'll just walk it off. -JS
  10. I've got this little problem. It's called Traumatic Glaucoma. Granted anything that can make you go blind is pretty traumatic in itself but this refurs to a specific type of glaucoma that occurs sometimes many years after blunt force type injury to the eyes. Like getting punched in the eyes. My teen years were particulary difficult. I was outted at the age of 13 the summer before 7th grade started in a redneck town in Mississippi. By my count I've had twenty something concussions, 6 broken bones, my right knee had to be reconstructed. There were a couple of times I came really close to dying. I live with pain all the time. Forgive me if I'm a little twitchy. I've got Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Whenever I'm in a room, I look for something that would serve as a weapon and an exit- just in case. I have nightmares so bad that I can't sleep in the same bed with another person. I try not to get too caught up in this crap. It's depressing and painful to think about it. For years I drank or smoked enough weed to pass out every night. I've been clean and sober since the October before last. I've been taking better care of myself. That's how my eye condition was diagnosed. A little background. What's bugging me is that Jan. 4th I have another appointment to see how my eyes are doing and I'm just plain scared. That's hard for me. The way I survived for many years was to NOT show fear. If I did, I was a goner. I learned to survive by fighting dirtier than the people that were tormenting me. I learned to ignore a tremendous amount of pain so that I could dish it out. I hate being afraid. It sucks big time. What's worse is that it makes me angry to think of WHY I've got this problem. I don't like how I feel and I'm not sure what to do about it. I want to get high but I can't. That shit was slowly destroying my life. I want to drink myself into a stupor but that isn't going to help either. It's hard to carry this kind of stuff around inside this time of year with the holidays and all. I don't like what I'm feeling but all I can do is let it ride.
  11. I decided to board my cat during my Thank giving trip to Texas at the vet but I waited too late. My usual vet was full. I had to shop around to find him a space. He doesn't travel well and gets horrible gas when he's anxious. I was down to the wire and desperate. I begged my usual Vet for a referral list. Tuesday I went down the list. Animal Medical Center? No vacancy. Sullivan's Animal Hospital? No Vacancy. Cat Hospital? No vacancy. OK it's closing in on 4:00 and I'm getting desperate. No way am I driving to Dallas with flatulent kitty. Two 80 year olds are enough of a challenge. I arrive unceremoniously at the Bottom of the List: The Doggie Discipline Academy. When I show up, I go inside with cat in carrier and am met by a gung-ho guy with short hair and entirely too much energy. I say, "I'm going away for Thanksgiving and need to board my cat until Monday. Can you hook me up" "Sir Yes Sir! We run $15 bucks a day." I fork over the cash and the cat carrier and I'm off. Monday Morning- 5 days later I picked up Boo this morning. He was playing a harmonica. I'm not sure whether it is the dragon tattoo or his cold, hard stair that is most unnerving. It'll be quite a while before his tail is unpuffed.
  12. Attended the memorial for the wife of a faculty member today. They had planned on retiring this year (for the second time), take a position back with his Alma Mater that involved less work (his idea of retirement), and enjoying their time together. She was a sweet, kind, lovely woman -- but don't mistake that for weak. Not sure exactly how long they've been married, but longer than I've been alive. Between that and the weather changes making me ache, I've been mostly awake since 3am. Too much loss in the last year. 😢
  13. Obviously there were no gays in the military in this WWII era recruitment poster- despite the coy looking blond twink servicing all those pipes and valves. Nothing homo-erotic at all about this big, burly sweaty man slamming that big shell home... This WWI era recruiting poster is looking for young men and seamen... Oh well, leave it too the marines to know where the action is. Semper fi, do or die, Marine Corp, Marine Corp, Marine Corp! _______________________________________________________________ I mean absolutely no disrespect to any of the services... even the Air Farce. I just wish that I had the oppertunity. You can save any of these images by backclick, save image.
  14. I just got an email from NaNoWriMo about the second session of camp in July! Just wondering if anyone is interested and if we might have like a support forum/thread for those of us that are. This certainly could turn into the support thread if there's enough people interested! I just thought it would be a good idea to bounce ideas off of those in the GA community. My experience with the cabin system has been less than pleasant with 4/6 dropping out the last time I participated. Same kind of challenge, 50,000 words in the 31 days of July. I will definitely be participating. I missed the last session unfortunately because I totally forgot it had been moved to April. >_<* So yea, let me know what you think!
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